Tainted (Oh Captain, My Captain 7)
I shake my head. “I don’t want a dance, but since I took up your time, I’ll give you some money.” I reach for my wallet while she eyes me, thumb through the bills, and pull out six hundred dollars. Normally, I don’t carry that much cash, but the occasion called for it. I fold it in half, take her hand, and fold her fingers over it. Then, I pull my phone from my pocket and hand it to her. “I’ll find you again if you give me a fake.”
“Valo,” her voice catches with emotion. “I can’t take this money. It’s too much.” She holds her hand out to me, waiting for me to take it back, but that’s not happening.
“It’s not too much. Take it and I don’t know, get a really expensive manicure or something.” Her nails are different from the yellow, so she must get them done often.
Her face turns to stone again. “Fine, I will.” She quickly enters her number. “Here, it’s the real number. I’ll see you soon.”
I take my phone back and stand. “Bye, Jade.” Then I leave.
~
I used to love playing in the arena in Indiana. It was my first as an NHL player, the fans were great, and I had good teammates. While I have many good memories, I have some bad memories, too. This is the place where I fell in love and the place where my heart was broken. The girl I thought was the one for me, turned out to be in love with her male best friend. I never stood a chance. It was why I was happy when I was traded away from there.
However, once I was able to get over it and put it behind me, I enjoyed my trips back. Some of the same guys I played with are still on the team, like their captain, Brody Ross. I’m still familiar with some of my old teammate’s way of playing, so it’ll be a fun game.
After our morning skate, we speak with the media, who ask mostly about how this is my first game here as captain and how I feel about it. Sometimes, I think they believe we ponder such questions more than we really do. The best answer I could think of was how it’s exciting and being here brings back a lot of memories.
Gus sits next to me at lunch, and I’m tempted to tell him to socialize more. Sure, he interacts with everyone when they approach him, but he sticks near me most of the time. I don’t mind him though. He’s almost like a little brother. I just think it’s important to talk with everyone, too.
“So, what’s it like playing against your first team?”
I groan. “You sound like a reporter.”
“Hey, I’m a curious rookie. You have to answer.”
“It feels a bit more competitive, like when we’re playing my brother’s team. Otherwise, there’s no difference except I’ve played with some of those guys before.” My brother started playing with the Vegas Gamblers last year.
He nods in understanding, takes a bite, and then asks, “Does that mean you have tips on how to win?”
“Yeah, play hockey. Whoever plays better will win.”
He shakes his head. “That’s a suck answer, but I’ll take it.”
Gus is probably one of the hardest working kids I’ve seen. His mind is focused on hockey and nothing else 24/7. I don’t know how he does it because my mind wanders a lot. Tonight, I’m thankful for his focus because it shows. We’ve been feeding each other shots every shift and have scored a goal each. This has been a goal-frenzy kind of game, and when the third period starts, the score is 5-3 in our favor.
In the third, it’s as if each team loses the ability to keep the puck. We move from end to end repeatedly without anyone converting on a shot and scoring. My legs are burning by the time the buzzer sounds, ending the game. Sometimes, there is no better sound than the buzzer. I’m tired, slick with sweat, and ready to fall into a bed.
I’m walking with Gus on the way to our bus when I hear Brody call out my name. We turn to see him jogging toward us. There’s a girl with him, but she’s walking a few paces behind him before she reaches him.
“I’m glad I was able to catch you. I tried calling you, but got a message about the number being out of service.”
“Oh, I had to change it,” I tell him and give him my new number.
Brody nods. “I just wanted to tell you congrats on your new title,” he grins. “You’ve earned it. Plus, I wanted to introduce you to my wife, Selene.”
“I heard you got married. Congratulations, by the way. Nice to meet you,” I tell her as I shake her hand. “Thanks for catching up with me before we left. It was good to see you.”
“You, too, Valo. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
A few other teammates exit and it’s time to head out, so I say my goodbyes and get on the bus.
Chapter Five
Jade
It’s my one vice. It’s the one thing that I’d go broke for and save to have done. It’s my weakness.